Kaze no Rei
by Ray Venn Hakubi
Summary: Naraku has formulated another plan, using a character from the Ikkou's past... set between volumes 21 and 22 of the Manga.
1. Youen

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned within who are of any worth. Apart from incidentals, they are all property of Rumiko Takahashi. The chapter titles are the names of songs from the Inuyasha OSTs. 'Youen', meaning 'Fascination', is from the first.

_Kaze no Rei_ – The Wind's Soul.

Chapter I: Youen.

There is a girl in a room. The room is large, about twenty feet across, and plain. The walls are oak-panelled, and the floor covered in Tatami mats. The sliding doors at one end are made from paper, framed and crosshatched with balsa strips. They are closed.

The girl is of average height, pitch-black hair held up in a high ponytail, and decorated with feathers. Her ears are pointed, framed by the hair, and bearing earrings crafted each from three glass beads, blade-like obsidian carvings hanging from the third bead. Her irises are crimson, and her pupils nonexistent. There is fierceness in her eyes, but it is subdued and tinged with sadness now.

Her hands are clasped beneath her chin, a folded fan held there, the wide top of the wooden slats that make up the ends concealing her rouged lips. She extends her left hand with the fan held within it, and turns her wrist, allowing the fan to fall open. She moves her hand out to the side, turning her wrist again as she does so to hold the fan open horizontally. She pushes her right hand forward now, extending out in front. She remains there for a moment, arms at right angles, before bringing the fan around to flutter in front of her face and bending her knees slightly to dip her body down. From there, she begins to turn, moving her arms around her in windmill patterns, a slow, whirling dance of spinning motions and perfect balance. It is beautiful to watch, this Art of the dance, and as the Watcher finally pushes open the door, alerting the dancer to his presence, even he manages to feel a pang of regret at the abrupt cessation of motion and stiff, resentful bow. Still, that regret vanishes under the weight of the mirth that the Dancer's resentment offered him – especially considering her origins. Smirking slightly, the watcher steps into the room.  
"Kagura. I have another task for you." And the crimson eyes rise again, meeting cruel teal, and burning with secret hatred. My crimson eyes.

* * *

Nazuna grunted with effort as she put the final basket down, and wiped her brow of sweat. The village had been good to her, but still, it was hard work. Not that she'd ever think of complaining – she knew what it was truly like to be used, and this felt like vindication rather than a chore. She was _earning_ her keep, and no one would suffer for it. Smiling to herself, she headed over to the small hut her guardians lived in, and lifted the flap. The couple were elderly, but still hard working, orchard keepers for the local lord. Their pears and cherries were certainly the pride of the prefecture, and Nazuna was happy to be their legacy. They had no children of their own, but had treated her as though she was blood kin.  
"I'm done!" she smiled at the old woman, who smiled back in thanks.  
"Thank you, Nazuna. You're too good to my poor husband… you must be tired, though. Please, have some tea and rest a while." The old woman gave her no chance to reply, simply filling a rough earthenware cup with tea from the pot over the fire. Nazuna looked like she wanted to object, but shrugged to herself and accepted the tea, sitting across the fire from her guardian. "When my husband returns, we would like to speak to you about something."  
"Oh... have I done something wrong?" Nazuna worried. She was constantly second-guessing herself, ever since the priest had… no, she decided she would never dwell in the past again.  
"No, it is not that… we will explain when my husband returns." After that, there was no persuading the old woman. Nazuna couldn't help but smile to herself as she realised that, in her own way, this orchard-keeper's wife was as stubborn as the Hanyou who had saved her life. 

In time, the husband returned, looking tired and weather-beaten as always. He smiled at his wife and adoptive daughter, and stepped out of his sandals, sinking stiffly to kneel before the fire. Gratefully, he accepted a cup of tea from his wife, who then set to serving rice into bowls. Nazuna fidgeted as they ate, impatient to know what the couple wished to talk to her about. Despite the old lady's assurances, she couldn't help but worry that it had been some failing on her part. She went over the past few weeks in her mind, trying to find faults.  
"Nazuna." The old man's voice broke into her thoughts, and she started from her reverie as though woken from a light sleep. "I can see that my wife has told you that I wish to speak to you… do not look so nervous! I am far too old to take your mistakes out of your hide." A glint in the old man's eye showed that he was joking, and Nazuna couldn't help but smile at the image. "No, though it is, perhaps, a sad subject, you have nothing to worry about. It is simply that soon, it will be time for us to pass on. We are old, Nazuna. I have seen almost fifty harvests…" his face crinkled in a smile, age-pale eyes showing fondness. "And it is time that I made my formal will… this land belongs to Lord Shira, and he has granted me rights of tenancy. Now… I am passing those rights on to you, Nazuna." He lapsed into silence, mulling over something and staring into his tea. For her part, Nazuna was speechless. She had grown to love the old couple over the months she had lived with them, but she did not feel that she had earned this, even with all her hard work collecting the early-falling pears. Moreover, she did not feel that she had the skills such a position would require.  
"We are not gone yet, Nazuna. We still have some breath in us to finish teaching what you will need to know…" The old woman's voice interrupted her panicked mind, calming her as seemingly only the old woman could.  
"This is just a provision for the future… in the morning, we will go to visit Lord Shira to make it official. Unless… you do not want this, Nazuna?" The old man's voice turned slightly querulous at the end, wavering with uncertainty as he realised they had not thought of her desires in this plan.  
"I… No, I do... It's just so sudden. I've only been here with you a few months, and…"  
"And you have become more than a daughter to us, Nazuna. You are my apprentice as well, that was the agreement when you came here… we would care for you, and you would train in this art of mine…"  
"Yes… It was. I'll accept this, if it is your wish for it to happen now." Nazuna steeled herself, as though she already felt the weight of responsibility settling on her shoulders. She had found this destiny on her own, and she would face it with open arms. After all… it was what she wanted. A stable, secure, _normal_ life without Youkai and chaos.

* * *

I humphed to myself, leaning on the doorframe, concealed by the hanging mat that formed the hut's door.  
'_What's so special about her?'_ I thought. '_This nothing of a human girl, why should Naraku be bothered with her?_' Lately, the bastard had been more and more obsessed with destroying Inuyasha and his Ikkou. Maybe this girl knew their weaknesses or something… well, what Naraku wanted, Naraku got, whatever the collateral damage. Privately, I hated that, but I'd never dare admit anything of the sort. '_The oldsters will have to die, of course. No getting around that_…' I hoped the girl wouldn't fight. I like a good scrap as much as the next Youkai, but this was business, and I refused to let myself enjoy doing _his_ work. Silently, I came to a decision, and ducked around the side of the house as the flap opens.

* * *

"Hmm..? No-one's here…" Nazuna frowned to herself, looking around. "I could have sworn I heard something…" she turned around to head back inside, and was about to lift the flap when someone grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth and pinning her arms behind her. A female voice hissed in her ear, sultry and condescending.  
"Don't make a sound, girl. If you bring them out here, I'll kill them both." Nazuna froze, instantly. She wouldn't be the cause of more deaths. "That's good… I'm afraid you'll have to come with me now. Who knows, maybe if you're lucky you'll come back to take over this pathetic plot of land." Nazuna's eyes widened slightly as she realised that the woman – whoever she was – must have been near the house for over two hours. Why hadn't she done anything before now?

* * *

I relaxed my hand from the girl's mouth, and was rewarded by the girl's promised silence. I wouldn't kill the oldsters unless I had to, I realised. Naraku hated loose ends, and, in a way it'd be one in his eye. I turned my eyes back to my hostage. She was slightly taller than me, her black hair gathered at the nape of her neck by a cloth tied in a bow. She wore a tunic, belted at the waist, so that the bottom half fell down to mid thigh as a kind of skirt. When I saw her earlier she wore cloth bracers about her legs below the knee that stopped just above her ankles. Sandals protected her feet, though they lacked the thick wooden blocks that characterised most farmers' shoes. Blinking away my thoughts, I briefly wondered why I was paying so much attention to her appearance. Mentally shrugging, I reached back into my hair and pulled out a feather. Casting it into the air, I felt the familiar rush of power as it transformed, and hoisted the girl onto it in front of me, willing it to rise up and take us away from that place. I decided that I wouldn't tell the girl that a Saimyoushou cleanup squad would probably kill her grandparents, or whoever they were. I could have made a cleaner job of it, but the opportunity to wreak havoc may counter weigh Naraku's anger at my tardiness. Even I couldn't resist watching their happy family, like some jealous mortal. Even though He would be angry… I found, to my surprise, that I felt something for this girl… perhaps pity? I couldn't tell, it was alien to me. I shook off the feeling as useless – why pity her, when I would suffer for my lateness?

* * *

End C1 


	2. Brooding Future

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except nameless incidentals. The song's title means "Seeking the Shikon no Tama, spirits of rivers and mountains."

Chapter II:Brooding Future (Song: Shikon no Tama wo Nerau-Chimimouryou)

There is a girl on a roof. The girl has black eyes, and black hair held back and fastened at the nape of her neck by an orange ribbon. Her ears are rounded, human. She is wearing a brown tunic and shin-sleeves, her feet protected by simple sandals. She sits on the gentle slope, and hugs her knees, midnight eyes fixed on an intangible point in the near distance.

* * *

Nazuna shivered in the cold air. She did not know why the woman had kidnapped her, nor why she had been brought to this... _castle_. The woman was Youkai, definitely, but what would a Youkai princess want with her? She had seemed so sad… though the woman had covered it up with brash words as soon as they'd been out of earshot of the house. She had introduced herself as Kagura, before leaving Nazuna to sit on the slanted rooftop and await the lord of the manor's pleasure. She wasn't completely dense… she had sensed the Youkai-woman's fear as palatably as her own. But what could scare a proud Youkai princess like this Kagura?

* * *

My fingers clutched my fan reflexively, the simple wood groaning, threatening to break if I applied any more pressure. Yet no matter how nervous I get, no matter how roughly I grip it, I never break my fan. It is nothing but wood and paper, yet somehow it symbolises my strength… just as the monster before me symbolises my weakness.  
"Kagura. You are late, and without the girl. Explain yourself." Naraku reclined on his throne-cushion, fixing his contemptuous crimson eyes with their white pupils upon my own pure ones. Reigning back my hatred, I replied, stiffly:  
"I was delayed. The girl's outside, waiting to be called." It was no lie, I'd left her on the roof so that the miasma wouldn't kill her before Naraku was finished with her. "I thought it'd be a good idea to say 'sorry I'm late' before showing her in."  
"I suppose that is wise… to provide a united front to our troubles…" He mused.  
"Why her?" I queried, treading on dangerous ground.  
"She will be useful." Was the simple reply. "Bring her in." I bowed my head, backing from the throne room and fetching Nazuna from the roof. She told me that her name was Nazuna during the flight. The name suits her. It sounds… strong. '_She almost reminds me of me…_' I brushed the thoughts away, and slid the door open once more, waving the human girl into the audience chamber. I made to leave, but Naraku's voice stops me.  
"Kagura. Remain." Shrugging, I turned, closing the door behind me, and stood just inside it. Nazuna stood stock-still where I left her; watching Naraku like a mouse watches a cat. Her eyes met Naraku's – but they were not Naraku's cruel-crimson eyes, but Kagewaki Hitomi's eyes, teal and beautiful in their perfection. I realised that the girl Nazuna, for all her fighting spirit, was lost then. The spider in mortal form rose, unfolding his legs and seeming to glide up to a standing position, before moving slowly towards the girl and embracing her, stroking her hair as her arms hung uselessly beside her.  
"My Nazuna… you will serve me, give your fighting spirit to me… won't you, my third daughter?" His hand slipped from her hair, tracing down the side of her face and neck, to rest over her heart. His four spider-legs moved forward, sliding cleanly out from his back, to embrace her closer… or to form a cage from which there is no escape.

* * *

That was when her elbow snapped up and hit him under the chin. 

"Get off me you CREEP!" She shrieked at him. Her eyes blazed back into life, her spirit, so apparently crushed by Kagewaki's charisma driving her to escape. "Filthy… SPIDER!" As he reeled stunned, she punched him in the chest before turning and trying to force the demonic spider-legs apart to form a way through. The human was strong, and Naraku cursed, moving forward again to grab her firmly with the claws on the ends of his spider-legs, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her off the floor so that her legs kicked worthlessly. The soft approach, having failed, was abandoned for a forcible transformation. If she would not willingly give him her heart, he would take it. Placing his hand on her chest again, he pushed inside, their flesh _merging_ somehow to become one as she screamed in pain and anguish. Then she went limp, her curses and shrieks silenced suddenly as the fight left her. Naraku removed his hand, the somehow still pulsing, beating heart of the girl once called Nazuna held there.

Even as I watched, the heart… so reminiscent of my own… sank into his palm. It should not have been possible… for Naraku to claim my heart, he had created me from scratch and simply left it out. For him to claim that of another, existing being… it was simply a sign of the increased power he was gaining from the Shikon shards in his possession. "Kagura. When she awakes, you will teach her as Kanna taught you. Is this understood?" Naraku fixed his eyes – and they are his, this time, and not those of the human who's face he has stolen – on my own. I held them for as long as I could, before dropping my eyes respectfully.  
"I get it." I turned to go, but again his voice interrupts.  
"Take her to your room. You will be sharing it from now on." He finished.  
"Tch." I muttered over my shoulder and flicked my fan open, lifting her on a cushion of wind, and walking out of the throne room.

When I reached my, no, our room, I laid the unconscious, or perhaps dead – it was hard to tell – body on my own mattress. The room wasn't small for two, but it wasn't a large room either. Muttering imprecations about Naraku's bloodline, I reached into a cupboard-wardrobe and pulled out another set of bedding, laying it out on the floor on the other side of the table in the room. The room had been guest lodgings, as far as I could tell, and was equipped with enough bedding for four or five if they were very friendly. The table also served as a Checkers or Shogi board, the pattern on top being arranged perfectly for either game. She didn't look like she was going to get up any time soon, so I left her, and went to the roof to think. Sitting in the same spot I placed her earlier, I realised with a start that the tiles were still warm. Frowning, I wondered why that affected me so much. '_Am I so craven that I need to feel something even from warm tiles a prisoner has sat on? No… I will not allow this change to affect me. This Nazuna will likely not survive her first encounter with the Ikkou, like our brother before her… I can only hope that she does not take me with her when she falls._' I sat and brooded on the roof, wondering what my new sister would be like when she awakened. I wondered what fighting skill or magic she has, but failed to display us now. I wondered if she will change and become a Youkai. I wondered… many things.

Strangest of all, I wondered… will she forgive me, if she remembers?

* * *

End C2


	3. Awakening

Disclaimer: I own none of the included characters worth mentioning. Any incidentals are mine, but they're generic 'NPC' types.

Writing this, I've realised that it might not be obvious who Nazuna is. She's the girl from the beginning of volume five, the Kumogashira arc. She, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou defeated the Kumogashira's "hive mind", which had taken the form of a priest in order to lure Inuyasha's Shikon shards to it. She doesn't have any special powers or fighting skill, but she's as stubborn and determined as Inuyasha.

I realise that my chapters are quite short, but mostly what I'm doing at the moment is trying to get what I can down onto paper before it leaves me, which gives the structure… they seem logical places to end, so I leave them as they are rather than trying to merge the instalments into longer chapters.

Sorry this took so long to get back out again. I couldn't find my backup copy (it's on a floppy), so… heh. Here it is again. Kaze no Rei; Chapter 3. The song is 'Events at Mount Hakurei' from the third OST.

Chapter III: Awakening. (Hakureizan no Ihen).

There is a man, sitting in a room. He has long; greasy black hair that reaches to his waist, hanging loose except for some, which is gathered into a ponytail. He has curved, human ears, and handsome features. His eyes flicker strangely, as though two natures are at war within them. One moment they are perfect teal, human eyes with strange hue. The next they are angular crimson, the pupils bleeding to white. He is concentrating on something, and in one upturned palm lays a perfect, spherical jewel, one quarter of which is missing, leaving jagged edges. He watches the jewel's curved side, tilting it, and stares deeply into the reflection of his eyes there, which have finally settled on the red. A wicked smile curves his lavender-painted lips.

* * *

Nazuna stirred, groaning. Something had… no… what was missing? There was something… but she could not remember. She decided to start at basics. Her name was Nazuna, she was angry, and something was missing. That was a start. Who were her parents? She did not know. Who was she? She did not know past her name. Where was she? In danger. That fact registered strongly. Forcing her eyes to open, she looked around. She was in a dismal room, laying on a futon against one wall. Sitting up, she put a hand to her head, rubbing her temples to ease her headache. 

"Hurts like hell, don't it?" A voice… familiar, but beyond her grasp. Female, strong, dark, and sultry, a voice completely at odds with her coarse language and slaughter of the Japanese tongue.

"Who?" Nazuna looked up, and saw the hunched figure of a woman sitting with her back resting against the doorframe. A name welled up in her mind…"Kagura…" she murmured under her breath.

"Hoh? So you do have some things in that head of yours. Shit. I was hoping this would be easy…" Had she been more awake, Nazuna would have noticed the slight twist to the Wind-user's words. As it is, she took them at face value.

"What would? Who are you? Do you know what's happened to me?"

"Yeah. You're new. That's about it… just another spawn of Naraku, in for the haul, long or short. Wake up and smell the fucking ashes, little sister." Nazuna looked at the woman more carefully, and Kagura turned her head, still toying with her fan with her hands, and looked straight into Nazuna's eyes.

* * *

'_Shit. She hasn't changed at all. What's that bastard thinking, bringing a mortal into this mess?_' I swore to myself, staring into my 'sister's' coal eyes. Naraku wanted her convinced she was a Bunshin like the rest of us, well. Shove Naraku. '_The moment I can get her somewhere private, I'll tell her the truth… for all the good it'll do her…_' I decided. I realised that I was making a lot of concessions for this mortal girl… perhaps it was simply that she was a kindred spirit. Strong-willed and individual, forced into this against her heart. I noticed that there was a rebellious fire in those black orbs as they met my crimson ones, and forced myself to smirk. 

"Don't even bother… I know what's going through your mind. 'what's going on?' 'Who the hell does she think she is?' 'Like hell I'll do what some asshole tells me to do.' Right?" I saw her pause, shocked, and retreat slightly. I was being harsh, but I needed to get across to her that this was not a safe place to talk of anything but what Naraku told us to talk of.

"But... you… I _know_ you? Don't I?" She seemed confused, and I felt a moment of panic when I saw the look of one seeking a mother's comfort in her eyes.

"In a way… You were grown in the same vat I was. Maybe part of me ended up getting mixed in with your hell-brew of a womb. Would explain how you knew my name. Most of us are only born knowing our own and our Father-Master's. Hell. It's stuffy in here. Lets head outside somewhere and I'll tell you the rest." Standing, I slipped my fan inside my sleeve and nudged the door open with my foot. Nazuna didn't need a hand up – I hoped she was realising that any help she needed, she'd have to manage for herself.

* * *

Nazuna struggled to her feet, and moved towards the door to follow the wind-user. She was about to step past it when her eyes registered the fact that Kagura had stopped in front of her, and moved to one side, revealing a small girl wearing a white shift. Her skin was unhealthily pale, her hair pure white, and her eyes bottomless-deep pits. In the crook of one arm, she held a circular mirror with an ornate silver setting. In the other arm were a sword – a short-bladed single-handed weapon with a slight curve to its edge – and a jewel box. 

"Nazuna…" The girl's voice was a whisper, and she made no sound as she drifted closer on bare feet. "I have brought your weapons…" And she presented the sword to the dark-haired human. Nazuna reached out and touched the weapon's lacquered sheath, something stirring within her as she caressed it before taking the weapon and slipping it through the sash that held her tunic closed. "The sword is Hano Maneshi-Kogoe…" Kanna whispered, and held out the jewel-box. Nazuna took it from her unresisting fingers, and opened it to reveal a gold ring, set with a green jade stone. Taking the ring from its velvet nest, she slipped it onto the middle finger of her right hand, knowing somehow that was its natural resting place. "The ring is Kino Chikara…" the white girl finished, before turning on the spot and walking away, fading into the darkness within seconds.

"Well. Looks like He's decided to grace you with some pretty powerful equipment… I guess that means we're meant to go to the training ground, if he's already given it to you. I don't suppose sword-skills are one of the things your mysterious mind has gifted you with?" Kagura asked, with a tinge of sarcasm. Nazuna searched her fragmentary memory, and shook her head. Still, she felt some kind of bond with the blade, so perhaps when it was in her hand it would tell her its secrets. Kagura just shrugged and carried on walking, leading Nazuna to an open-roofed courtyard with several weapons racks around the outside under a covered walkway. The floor was hard-packed earth. Several roughly humanoid training dummies were at points around the room, but they weren't going to use them, Nazuna realised, as Kagura walked to the middle of the room and turned, slipping her fan from her sleeve and meeting her eyes.

"I said I'd finish explaining, so here I go. I don't know what he has in store for you, but it'll probably killing or weakening his enemies. That asshole'll use you up without hesitation, leaving you to die if things go badly for him. That's if he even accompanies you. Weakness is forbidden, and he'll not hesitate to remove those of us who are no longer useful to him. Our lives… they aren't a blessing; they're a curse."

* * *

End C3.  



	4. Shi Kon

Notes: I've edited chapter three, adding a more satisfactory ending to it. Just a minor tweak, but hopefully it should make more sense. I hated the way it was before – just stopping like it had been chopped off by Tessaiga or some such.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters within… I have about as much right to them as you do. (Assuming you're not THE Rumiko Takahashi, that is.) 'Shi - Kon' is 'Death - Soul' from the first OST.

Chapter IV: Shi - Kon.

* * *

There is a boy in a field… he is young, perhaps fifteen, and dressed in tattered red robes in a style a hundred years out of date… His hair is silvery, shining in the morning light as it cascades down his back. His fringe is unruly, blowing across his amber eyes. His ears sit atop his head, and swivel to follow sounds, two furred triangles attuned to every whisper. He stands in the field like a warrior facing his opponent, one foot forwards and his body turned sideways, hands on his sword and scabbard, as though preparing to draw. He has scented something on the spring winds, and he does not like it… trouble is brewing, and he knows that it brews for him…  
"What are you doing this time… Naraku!" Inuyasha barks out to the air in frustration.

* * *

I looked across the packed earth floor or the castle's training room, and widened my stance the small amount my constricting robe would allow me. Stretching my right arm to the side, I opened my fan halfway, causing the wind to swirl in front of me in a defensive disk. "Alright, Nazuna. Lets see what you can do. Bring it on." I taunted, letting a cruel smile creep onto my lips, though truly I felt little malice for this girl in front of me. 

"Only too happy, Kagura." She tossed back, starting to enjoy the anticipation herself. Drawing her Wakizashi shortsword, she slipped into a ready stance, before charging at me. There was little skill in the attack, I realised, though more than an untrained girl should have. Narrowing my eyes, I turned my fan a little, directing a gust of wind to buffet her from the side, throwing her off balance. She rolled, clumsily, and climbed back to her feet, before charging again. I repeated the maneuver, but this time she turned, bringing her Void-Whisper Edge onto the oncoming gust, and, to my surprise, slicing through it so that the gust dissipated. I felt my eyes widen as she did so, and mentally cursed myself for letting my reaction show. Completing a full circle, she ran at me again, and I realised that more drastic measures would have to be taken. That sword was sharp. Sharp enough to cut my wind, which was slightly unsettling.

I settled for an old favourite, sweeping my fan across my chest in the familiar motion, tilted at precisely the right off-horizontal angle.

"Fuujin no Mai!" I called, and the wind obliged, sending several crescents of cutting wind at my erstwhile sister. She looked stunned for a moment, before jumping back and raising her left hand, dropping her right, and the Hano, to her side. Holding her hand in a fist in front of her chest, she closed her eyes and concentrated, the gemstone set into the ring starting to glow. Her hair rose, as though she were calling her Youki, though I knew that she was human.

"Kino... Atashi o Mamete!" she said, strongly, and a shield of green energy flared into being in front of her, deflecting or absorbing all the Blades I'd thrown at her."Pretty good... but you're going to have to work on your battlcries, little sister." I responded to this defense, chuckling. She grinned back, before rushing me again without warning, the sword still held loosely in her hand at her side. Unsure of this form of attack, I called up a whirlwind to strengthen my shield. When she reached me, she kicked off with one foot, spinning around to bring the sword from the left in an attempt to catch me off gaurd. Well, none of that.. I sent another burst of wind at her arm, knowing that the sword would simply cut it, and threw her off balance. However, doing this, I realised with a pang - I needed to learn some physical combat techniques, or I'd never be able to survive on my own.

* * *

When Kagura hesitated, Nazuna saw her moment. Her initial attack foiled, she settled for sweeping kick, taking the sorceress' legs out from under her. With a look of satisfying surprise, the wind-user went down hard, falling on her side. Nazuna saw her moment, and went in for the kill, putting her Hano to her sister's neck. Kagura looked panic-stricken for a moment, though the human wasn't sure why, their eyes locked together. The moment passed, and Nazuna stepped off, helping Kagura up. They looked at each other for a moment, and both started laughing, inexplicably.  
"Damn.. I thought you were gonna kill me back there, Nazu!" the sorceress said through her unstifled giggles. "Your eyes... they were like Naraku's." This image brought another set of giggles to Nazuna, who had just managed to calm down from the first bought.  
"What does he look like..? Our father, I mean." She asked the Sorceress, and Kagura stopped laughing completely.  
"Dangerous... I suppose. He has black hair... his eyes are strange, though. They shift and change.. one moment they're like mine, but with white pupils, full of hate and malice... that's how yours went... the next they're the most beautiful teal green. It's.. unnerving. I hope you never have to meet him in person.." and Kagura fell quiet again, the strange moment of innocence she'd had with the shared laugh banished by thoughts of her Master and captivity once more...

* * *

Kanna sat in the window, staring into her mirror. For once, she showed the slightest bit of emotion... her brow creased in thought. "Kagura... has never laughed before..." she spoke to herself, her voice a near-whisper. 

"Perhaps there will be more problems with this plan than I had anticipated..." the slimy male voice spoke from the shadows. "The human may awaken to her true history sooner than anticipated should she continue to feel joyous thoughts... and Kagura may realise her own past, should she gain peace of mind with this servant." Naraku rarely spoke his thoughts aloud. It was not that he feared being overheard, no, but it was simpler to keep them within his head. However, this time he was rewarded by his first, and only trueborn, daughter's voice.

"She... will not realise... until it is too late..." Kanna's ghostly tones floated to him, and he decided that she knew her sisters' minds better than he ever could. She was his, the only child he claimed who's heart was her own... for she was him, and his will alone drove the mockery of life that was Kanna of the Void.

* * *

End C4 


	5. Yokoshima Naraku

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned within who are of any worth. Apart from incidentals, they are all property of Rumiko Takahashi. The song means 'Evil - Naraku', and is again from the first OST. 

Chapter V: Yokoshima - Naraku.

A man in white stands in a clearing. His eyes are closed, and his stance neutral. He appears to be in deep thought. Four pink stripes, two on each cheek, break up his features, and a purple crescent moon, tips joined to form a circle, graces his forehead. His finely-chiselled features show no expression. His right hand is loosely clenched, his left sleeve hanging empty. A black breastplate protects his chest, and armoured plates cover his thighs, but his clothes are formal robes, unsuited to combat. Through his sash is a Katana, two and a half feet long, and crossing it a large broadsword, fully four feet in length, four inches broad at the apex of it's diamond blade, and lacking a scabbard. These mismatched swords are at odds with the strange perfection of his features. He opens his eyes, looking into the sky, and their amber depths reflect the near-empty moon.

"Where are you..?" He thinks in silence, before walking from the clearing, moonlight glimmering among the wind-lifted strands of his silvered hair.

* * *

I suppressed a frown as I heard the droning of giant bee's wings interrupting our training session. Part of me noticed Nazuna jumping back and raising her Hano defensively. I raised a hand to signal her to relax, and instead found myself encumbered with a Saimyoushou. The evil wasp-like Youkai sat there, glaring at me, until I brought its mandibled face perilously close to my ear. Its message wormed its way into my brain, bypassing my ears, and I scowled. 

"Some wishes are not meant to be realised, it seems. We are summoned." Throwing my arm up and away, I flung the Saimyoushou away, not caring if it righted itself or not as it tumbled through the air. "Damn bugs." I mentally grumbled as I turned to leave the training ground. "Follow me, Nazuna." I commanded, before walking away. The familiar walls of the castle soon enveloped me, and I felt my nose scrunching against the foul stink of rotting flesh that permeated this area.

"Kagura, why does this part smell so bad..?" She asked me, and I walked a while in silence before answering.

"It is the servants. Naraku's miasma has destroyed them all. We're the only ones it doesn't affect, and I think that's only because Naraku chooses to protect us from it." She didn't quite seem to know what to say to that. In a few more moments, though, the conversation was moot. We had arrived. I extended a hand, and slid the door open.

He stood at the open window, looking out over his lands. I knew that view by heart, so long were the hours I'd spent staring out at it from my own window, the dismal, decrepit fields and twisted trees the only haunting grounds I could find when I was trapped within his barrier. He turned, his teal eyes soft, almost friendly. I felt my back stiffen in the warning in that, and waved Nazuna in after me.

* * *

Nazuna watched as Kagura opened the door, unsure of what to expect from her 'father'. The handsome young man with the teal eyes was certainly not it, from her sister's description of the hanyou. Admittedly, his long, black hair did shine with grease, but his formal robe was clean, and well turned-out. He wasn't slovenly at all. He certainly didn't look like the incarnation of pure evil that her sister had described. He looked straight at her when he spoke. 

"Nazuna. I trust your training session went well"  
"Yes, father… I managed to defeat Kagura in our first sparring match." She tried not to sound too eager in her report, though something in her had enjoyed defeating her sister.  
"Call me Naraku. 'Father' is... so formal. Would you say that I no longer have a need for her, now that I have you?" The universe seemed to hold its breath as it waited for Nazuna's reply, and Kagura prayed that Nazuna would realise that her sister's life hung on her answer.  
"Why does that matter? I like having her here. You're not going to get rid of her, are you?" Nazuna's voice was tinged with accusation, and Naraku paused for a moment before answering.  
"Of course not, Nazuna. Why would I do something like that?" When he did reply, his voice was smooth, like a snake slipping under a door. The effect was rather unsettling, but something told the supposed human girl that it was not meant to reassure. "No matter," he continued. "You must know that as with all my children, I have created you for a reason. Kanna." The white girl stepped from the shadows, appearing as though from nowhere, and held up her mirror. Light fell onto it from nowhere, and the reflection within changed to show the face of a boy with dog-ears and a red coat.

"This boy is Inuyasha. Do not be taken in by his appearance, he's highly dangerous. In the past, he has defeated and almost killed Kagura and Kanna. He also destroyed your brother, Goshinki. Kagura will take you to him when night falls. Your mission is to relieve him of his weapon, Tessaiga, to reduce his ability to terrorize us." Nazuna nodded. It sounded reasonable. She noticed Kagura's slight surprise, but decided to ask her about it later.

"Why nightfall?" She asked, instead. "I don't believe that I can see in the dark"  
"All of my children have some ability in that regard… however, his companions will be more impaired, and less able to assist him. Individually, they are less dangerous, but together they could likely take on the world." The news was unsettling to both Nazuna and Kagura, though the latter knew the truth of it first-hand.

"How am I supposed to succeed, then, if they are so strong?" Nazuna asked, and Naraku smiled.  
"I have given you the countenance of a past aquaintance of theirs. It should be simple to infiltrate their camp. The only difficulty will be in aquiring the sword. The weapons I have given you are for defense should you be discovered. If they do discern your true nature, you need only hold your ground until Kagura retrieves you."

That little nugget surprised the wind-user. This girl was important enough to be needed even if she failed... this got more interesting by the minute.

"When you return, I will have another task for you, so do not allow your body to become damaged." Naraku turned back to his vista, and fell silent. Kagura took her sister's arm, and steered her out of the room, recognising a dismissal.

* * *

When I judged that we were far enough from the throne room, I punched a wall. Nazuna looked at me like I'd gone crazy, but I just grinned at her. 

"Sorry, it's just that everything about him drives me up the wall. We'd better get going if we want to be there by nightfall..." I walked on, plucking a feather from my hair the moment we were outside, and within moments we were airborne as I cast it to the ground.

-----------------


	6. Shukumei no Tabi He

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or song titles mentioned. This one is "A Trip of Destiny" OST 1. (Track #2)

Kaze no Rei Chapter VI: Shukumei no Tabi He

There are two girls floating high on a feather. Both are raven-haired, both with an inner fire that shines as their only other similarity. One's crimson eyes search the ground and sky, guiding the feather. The other's midnight orbs are focused on the first's back, her brows knitted in concentration. The elder, the red-eyed _youkai_ princess, appears about seventeen. The younger human child appears no more than fifteen. She appears nervous, and looks as though she wants to say something, but remains silent. The _youkai_ does not speak to her, instead focusing on guiding their feather.

Nazuna bit her lip, running her thumb across the gem set into Kino Chikara again. The gem's barrier had held against Kagura's wind-blades, but something told her that it would be unwise to use it against Inuyasha, should it come to a fight. Finally, she forced herself to ask the question that had been plaguing her ever since they'd left the castle, and Naraku's words.

"Hey… Kagura… Do you think I really have a chance?" Her voice sounded uncertain, even to her. Kagura's reply was not reassuring.

"To be honest… no. Not of doing it sneakily. Even though you look like him, you probably smell of Naraku like I do. Unless you can use one of those items of yours to mask that scent… We should get you washed clean of his Miasma as well. There's a lake down there." With that, the feather dipped and turned, floating down towards the lake. As they descended, Nazuna closed her eyes and focused on her ring, probing its powers. The two items were intrinsically linked to her, despite their essentially _Youkai_ nature. But then, she was born of a Hanyou through the use of dark magic, so theoretically she should be touched by his _Youkai_ side. Perhaps that was how she could use the items, for she was no Maho-tsukai herself to be able to invoke their power. The ring offered no guidance for this task, however. She realised that it would retain its secrets until she needed them. The sword, on the other hand… it had cut Kagura's wind, perhaps it could cut her scent as well. The wakizashi was a mystery to her - she could wield it with some skill, though she was not weapons-trained, and it seemed to be not entirely of mortal existence. When she touched the _Hano Maneshi-Kogoe_, she felt her senses extend beyond her normal five, into another plane of existence almost.

'_Void-Whisper Edge… what is your secret?_' she thought to herself, and realised she knew how to mask her demon-scent. She would simply use the blade's aura to cut it off. The effect would not hold if Inuyasha put his nose against her skin, but it would suffice for normal meetings. She did not plan to get that close to him, physically, except when she took the blade, which would blow her cover in itself as soon as she tried to leave with the weapon. Briefly, she wondered who her look-alike was, to be allowed so close to him under normal conditions, but dismissed the thought. If Naraku had not told her, it was likely not important. At least, she hoped so. Despite Kagura's warning, he'd seemed so… normal that she couldn't be too distrusting.

Thinking of the wind-user, she still could not figure her sister out. The youkai seemed to swing between open friendliness when they were alone to subdued hostility whenever she thought they might be being watched. She just didn't know what to make of it. All she could conclude was that, for some reason, Kagura hated Naraku with a passion. Briefly, she considered asking the older girl, but before she could open her mouth, she was forced to catch herself as the feather disappeared beneath her. Landings were always rough, it seemed, when riding a magically-enlarged feather.

"The feather… is it one of your powers, or is it like my ring?" She asked instead, seeing that the wind-user was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. As she spoke, she slipped the sword from the sash about her waist, and placed it down, starting to strip for her 'bath'.

"The enlarging part is a spell on the feather, but I make it fly. Don't bother undressing; we'll need to wash your clothes anyway." With that, the Youkai grinned and flicked her fan open, waving it sharply towards the lake. She couldn't help but smirk at the look on Nazuna's face as she went flying into the lake, clothes and all. When Nazuna resurfaced, spluttering, she shot the wind-youkai a glare that could convince a mountain to shuffle quietly out of the way.

Unfortunately, this only made Kagura grin wider, rather than having the desired affect. Suddenly, an idea flowed into Nazuna's mind, and she grinned herself. Clenching her fist under the water, she buried Kino Chikara in the silty lake-bed, and willed the roots of the nearby trees to obey her. The resulting look of surprise on Kagura's face was priceless as brown and green tendrils rose up from the ground around her, wrapping around her legs and torso, holding them immobile, before rising further to hold her arms out to the sides. In her shock, she dropped her fan, and Nazuna frowned, sending another root to lift it away from the writhing vegetation at Kagura's feet. It wouldn't do to crush her sisters' weapon accidentally.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked the wind-user, standing and re-belting her tunic. For her part, Kagura just glared, pulling uselessly at the roots. "You dumped me in the water. That was mean."

"It was fun." Kagura grumbled, obviously feeling mistreated.

* * *

I muttered angrily, and pulled at the blasted roots she's summoned. I was wrong about her. She's just as humourless as Kanna. I frowned as the roots moved around me, tightening their grip slightly. It was almost painful, and brought up bad memories. The roots (the chains) tightening (blue fire running across them, searing me) and pulling back slightly. The girl (man) in front of me would scowl and…

I felt the fear creeping into the edges of my mind, the vision of Naraku overlaying my sight. I felt my crimson eyes widen, my breath become harsh, the adrenaline start to pump, and I hated myself for it. I'd been careless, and now this little girl had caught me (Just as he'd caught me).

'_Where did that come from..?_' I thought, before I felt the roots swaying back, and the fear swept away the last of my thoughts.

The shock of the cold water threw me back into reality. I was staring at the bottom, floating face-down, so I rolled over in the water, staring up at a pair of concerned dark-brown eyes as the fear retreated to the corners of my mind again.

"Kagura?" A soft, female voice asked, and it took a moment for me to attach it to the eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I replied, scrambling up to my feet and feeling them sink into the silty bottom. My dress was probably filthy. "You're probably de-stenched now. Let's go." I kept my voice neutrally cold. A stray thought gave me pause, and I briefly wondered if it had simply been a childish prank. She couldn't know of my fear of being constrained so. Still, I walked away.

"Kagura…" her plaintive voice stopped me. "I'm sorry. It was just meant to be a joke… you did dunk me." I sighed, and turned back.

"It's ok… you didn't know… that's how _he_… that's how he holds me when he punishes me." I looked down into the water swirling around the bottom of my robe, the line of brown muck around the hem rising as the water soaked into the finely-spun linen, ashamed at my weakness in admitting it, and in forgiving this girl. I heard the sound of the water swirling around her shins, but didn't anticipate the arms that went around my shoulders next, or the soft voice by my ear.

"I'm sorry. I won't let him to it do you again, I promise. I'm here, so... Don't be afraid. Kagura." Despite the fact I knew she couldn't follow through with her promise, I wanted to believe her so badly… This human girl I'd known for a few hours wanted to help me. I felt the overwhelming urge to tell her the truth. I got so far as opening my mouth before a scream jolted me to my senses. I felt Nazuna's presence recede, and heard her feet splash into the water as I looked up. There on the riverbank, towering over a girl wearing strange, glossy clothes was an Oni, identical to another of our siblings, Goshinki. The purple flesh, lizard like head, gazelle-like horns and oversized shoulders giving me pause. The monster looked up from the foreign girl, red-triangle eyes fixing on us, and though I was unarmed, I stood in front of Nazuna, arms raised defensively. Both of us had left our weapons on the edge of the lake, and the Oni's foot was dangerously close to crushing Nazuna's _Hano_ into the mud, where we might never find it. It's lizard like maw gaped open in a vicious grin, moving it's foot deliberately over the _Hano_ and picking it up, transferring it to one of it's upper arms to examine it. Its voice echoed in our heads, throwing our own voices back against ourselves in mockery of thought.

'_This is what you worry about?_' Its laugh echoed, derisively. '_You're pathetic, puppet elemental and her mortal sister, dancing on the spider's web. Paltry games and listless graces, I'm surprised you even show your faces._' I felt amusement well up inside me, as well as anger, and realised that with the mental voice came the Oni's emotions. It hadn't been like this when Naraku's mockery had spoken to me. I felt its laugh echo in my mind again, but quashed the Oni's emotion with my own irritation.

"Just give us the sword and let me grab my fan and we'll leave you to your meal." I responded. We had a mission to fulfil, and fighting psychic ogres was not on the itinery. The ogre threw the sword at us, and I caught it by the scabbard, only to be knocked down into the mud by Nazuna's body as the Oni's claw swept through the spot my head had just been in. On the way down, I lost my grip on the _Hano_, but it was too late to worry about the sword as I forced myself to stand, despite the heavy weight of my robes weighing me down. It would not do to drown now. I would rather be Oni food. The huge ogre loomed over us, though it looked perplexed. I saw why a moment later when I dropped my gaze. Nazuna stood between us, unsheathed blade in hand and raised in a high guard. For a human to stand so fearlessly against it must be something new.

The _Kino _glowed, and something flashed in the corner of my eye, and I was surprised to see the Oni's arm go up to catch a thrown rock. I was even more surprised when the _Hano_ lodged in his open flank a moment later. It was as though the Oni relied on its psychic powers to forewarn it of attacks, and for some reason could not read Nazuna's mind.

'_Your mind is clouded, how am I confounded! No matter, the time is nigh, your blade is trapped so now you DIE!_' the voice that was not-quite my own echoed, enraged with pain in my head. Its hand came up; I saw, the three-clawed monstrous limb falling towards Nazuna with deadly speed. I bunched my muscles, prepared to leap, but was stopped in surprise as the limb was halted by a green disk forming under it – the _Kino_'s barrier, I realised. The Oni roared again, out loud this time, throwing its lizard-head back in anguish. The sound was deafening this close. The Oni's words were true, though – Nazuna could not draw her blade forth from its sucking flesh, the _Hano_'s preternatural sharpness giving her no additional strength to pull it free. While using her ring to generate the barrier, she could not use its power to form another attack. The two were deadlocked – unless the _Kino_'s barrier was a disc and not a globe as I'd thought. I didn't stick around to find out. Unarmed, I couldn't focus my wind into whirlwinds or blades, but I still retained some control – enough to steer my feather, and hopefully enough to break this deadlock. Aiming my hands towards the Oni's head, I drew on the power within and threw it straight at the reptilian maw with a yell.

* * *

Nazuna heard her sister's cry, and threw herself down, dropping the barrier in order to grab her sword with both hands. The blade slid free with a slurp as the Oni was flipped over backwards, away from them, by the powerful gust of wind. Nazuna jumped backwards, plunging her ring into the murk and summoning the same power she'd used in her prank on Kagura. The roots ran under the lake, before shooting from the water with a splash and weaving themselves into a cage over the Oni. She directed another root to bring Kagura her fan, and the wind-user clasped the wood and paper construction with a look of relief.

"I'm not sure how long that'll hold him…" She muttered, mostly to herself. She was glad for the _Hano_'s blade-aura, though, for it was all that had protected her from the purple Oni's mind-reading ability, and, from the look on Kagura's face, his awful poetry. One bout of that was enough for the human girl, thank you.

"No matter. Now I have this, he won't be too much trouble. Ryuuja no Mai!" Kagura replied, calling the last and sweeping her fan from left to right across her body. Whirlwinds with dragon's heads twisted through the air, slipping between the slats of the cage and drilling into the purple Oni's body ruthlessly. The ogre's death-shriek left Nazuna's ears ringing, and from the look of Kagura's face, it had echoed on a mental level as well. A flash of memory drove Nazuna to look at the shore, and the foreign woman who lay there.

"We should see if she's alright." She said, and Kagura shrugged.

"Probably just some girl. Naraku won't be pleased if we're late. We saved her already, there's not much we can do to help her," the wind-user replied. Nazuna just gave her a look. "Alright, alright. We can check the girl who nearly got us killed." Kagura started trudging towards the shore, the sash holding her kimono closed having worked so loose that she could stride effectively against the resistance of the water. Nazuna followed, cleaning her blade in the muddy liquid as she walked.

The foreigner was unconscious, and both girls were slightly surprised to notice that she was a Youkai. From the way she'd run from the Oni, they'd taken her as a human, especially in her shimmering robe. The material was strange, sheer stuff that seemed woven so close that it would repel water. She had dark blue hair held up in two buns at the back of her head, and a thick fringe similar to Kagura's.

Still, Nazuna knelt beside her and lifted her head, cradling her shoulders. Kagura spent a moment wondering why the human thought they owed his girl, before getting a handful of water and splashing the foreigner's face. She twitched, and groaned a little, before murmuring.

"Hari..?" she groaned, her eyes flickering open and looking up at Nazuna. She sat up, slowly, putting her hand to her head. "No… who..?" The foreigner blinked awake properly, before rolling to her feet and looking at her rescuers warily. Nazuna was still kneeling where she had before the girl had woken up, but Kagura had her fan opened and in front of her face, defensively.

"Yeesh, relax." Kagura muttered, partly to herself.

"It's fine; we're not your enemies." Nazuna smiled at the foreigner, standing. The foreign girl didn't drop out of her stance, however.

"What happened to the Oni?" she demanded, her pretty features fixed in a scowl.

"Dead." Kagura responded, shortly. "He tried to kill us." The curt statement bore a warning as much as it was a response.

"I'm Nazuna, this is Kagura. What's your name?" the human girl's tone was friendly, unlike her sister's, and this served to confuse the foreigner slightly. Something about the two girls was incredibly familiar.

"Ruri…" was all she said aloud, however, giving away little. She'd nearly been eaten once today, and she didn't want to risk these two having some name-magic to take her over to do the same. One appeared human, but that meant nothing. Though Ruri could see none of the youki that usually marked shapeshifters out to her, she wasn't going to let her guard down yet. Even after nearly two hundred years in this backwards country, the Chinese Youkai hadn't seen everything it had to hide.

"Do you need anything, Ruri? Or will you be alright now?" The human had real concern in her voice, Ruri noticed, though her Youkai guardian rolled her eyes, clearly wanting to be away.

"I'll be fine. Ah, could you just tell me one thing? Have you seen a weapon smith around? I need a spear, as my companion has been taken prisoner and I have no weapon to regain her." Ruri replied, though she didn't know why she felt the need to explain herself to these women.

"No, we've not." Kagura responded, slightly impatiently. "Nazuna, lets go. He won't be happy if we're late."

"Sorry…" Nazuna smiled, sheepishly. "I'll just be a moment, Kagura." The wind-user raised an eyebrow, closing her fan and watching her companion as the latter held up her left hand, fingers splayed. Green light played out from the gem set into _Kino Chikara_, before drawing back in and then flowing out of the gold part of the ring until it formed a bar of rippling green energy, about five feet long, which then turned white before coalescing into a spear-form.

"Here." She smiled, before grasping the spear and giving it to Ruri, butt-first. "Ah... What weapons does your companion use?" Ruri blinked, taking the spear and testing its weight without appearing to. It was perfect, and she realised that she could will it to take on the form of a silver ring set with a blue gem.

"A pair of Shamshir." She replied, slight curiosity tinting her voice. Nazuna appear to think a moment, before clenching her fist around the air, the same green glow from before spilling out between her fingers. She held the hand forth, and within were two leaves. Ruri took them, and raised a questioning look to Nazuna.

"They'll transform, like your spear," came the response. Ruri nodded to herself; it would make sense that only Hari would be able to use the weapon made for her. She bowed to the two women as she'd learned was the custom in this country, and then was surprised when it was the nobly-dressed Youkai who posed the next question to her.

"So, what's that outfit of yours made from?" Kagura asked, managing to inject some of her usual cynicism into her voice.

"Silk. Beautiful, isn't it? It comes from my homeland." Ruri replied, smiling slightly. She'd worked out who these girls reminded her of – they were like herself and Hari, after a fashion, though from Kagura's tone earlier she had gathered they did not share Ruri's devotion to Menoumaru for their own lord. Briefly, Ruri wondered if perhaps they could be convinced to change their allegiance. There was no harm in asking, she decided.

"Do you like it?" She tilted her head, and Kagura nodded. "If you tell me where your Lord resides, I might be able to prevail upon lord Menoumaru to send you some."

"I would like that, but… I cannot. My lord," there was a definite twist of distaste there, or perhaps something more, "is a secretive man, with several powerful enemies. If I were to give the location of his castle away, my punishment would be…" Kagura looked away, grimacing. "It would not be worth it."

"You do not like your Lord? Why, then, do you serve him?" Ruri frowned, leaning slightly on her spear.

"He holds our hearts. We cannot disobey." It was the human who spoke. Kagura seemed ashamed of her outburst. Ruri sighed, and looked away.

"So, you couldn't come to Lord Menoumaru if you wanted to. If you ever win free of your Lord, please consider the Moth Lord of China as a patron. He is kind, and asks no binding other than an oath of his servants, whether warrior, maid, or magic-user."

Kagura laughed at that.

"Of course we'll win free. I am the wind, I cannot be held for long!" She seemed slightly hysterical, though.

"I'm sorry, lady Ruri… we must go." Now it was Nazuna who wanted them to leave, and she tugged the wind-user's sleeve gently. Kagura sighed, becoming sombre, and nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose. Step back." With that, the wind-user plucked the feather from her hair and threw it upwards, a whirlwind hiding her for a moment before fading and revealing her atop her feather. She held out a hand to Nazuna, and pulled her onto the boat-like construct, before lifting a hand in farewell to the foreign _Youkai_. Briefly, Ruri wondered it she'd ever see the two again, but dismissed them from her mind and set out once more for the mountain temple where Hari was bound with priestly magic, the leaves comfortingly in her hand.

End Kaze no Rei, chapter six.


End file.
